***** 5 Stars Rating
‘Warrior On The Edge Of Time’ is Hawkwind’s sixth
album, and fifth to consecutively hit the British charts, following ‘In Search
Of Space’ (no. 18 1971), ‘Doremi Fasol Latido’ (no. 14 1972), the double
live album ‘Space Ritual Alive’ (no. 9 1973) and ‘Hall Of The Mountain
Grill’ (no. 16 1974). Add to this the incredible and unexpected success of the
single ‘Silver Machine’ (no. 3 1972). It was OK for underground/cult bands
to have albums in the charts, but a hit single was quite extraordinary. I mean,
a video of Hawkwind being played alongside performances by David Essex and The
Bay City Rollers on ‘Top of the Pops’ - unbelievable!
You will understand they were one of Britain’s top road
bands with a fanatical following, who crammed their nationwide concerts and
talked knowledgeably about the contents of each album. By this time they had all
but guaranteed their places in the annals of Rock ‘n’ Roll history. Along
the way they created space/rock, which was to become the cornerstone of later
genres such as ambient music and house music. (Ah, Kiddies, got your interest
now?)
To many, this seventies lineup of Hawkwind will always be the
classic lineup and, having been together for almost 5 years, one of the most
stable, too. True, poets, dancers, Dik Miks, and Del Dettmars came and went, but
the nucleus of the band was for Hawkwind very stable. Of course, Simon House
joined as well, but nobody was fired, left behind, or spontaneously combusted.
Due to this remarkably uniformed period, and having spent
most of the time on the road, including two ground breaking tours of the United
States of America and three of Europe, with ‘Warrior On The Edge Of Time’
Hawkwind managed to lay down their magnum opus ... if you like Space Rock’s
‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Everything felt right. The title alone left you in
no mind what to expect. The artwork was simply stunning, standing out in all its
glory amongst the other vinyl recordings in your local record store, featuring a
single futuristic warrior on horseback gazing into the mists of time. Stirring
stuff indeed.
The album roared into the British charts, reaching No. 13,
and remained in the charts for 3 months with all the songs being incorporated
into the live show. Some of them cropping up now and again in Hawkwind’s ever
changing stage show today.
Bandleader Dave Brock was at the very height of his creative
abilities. The album starts off with a two part epic recently voted Hawkwind’s
most popular song ever by the band’s fanzines readers of Hawkfan.
The music starts off with a memorable bass line from Lemmy
before the rest of the band break in with both drummers laying down a complex
drum pattern. Dave Brock’s chugging riff, Nik Turner’s flute fluttering over
the top, and Simon House holding the sound together with a wall of keyboard
sound. Instead of it being a weakness by not having a lead vocalist, they turn
it into a strength by using to good effect harmony vocals that add to the spacey
effect and, of course, behind it all is the wonderful Hawkwind giving it lots of
atmosphere.
After this opening volley lasting over ten minutes (a
wonderful live version of this song can be heard on the 1991 live album
‘California Brainstorming’), the famous American Sci-Fi writer, Michael
Moorcock, makes his first appearance, narrating the words to his own poem, very
echoey with sonic keyboard and drum backing.
Next up is a very unusual feat as the two drummers in the
band take sole song writing credit for the hard driving instrumental ‘Opa-Loka’,
which leads us nicely into another pair of Dave Brock songs. Of the two,
‘Magnu’ really stands out, which was to be one of the mainstays of the
Hawkwind live set for many years, featuring an upbeat tempo that swirls and
swirls round your speakers until Simon House comes in with one of the most
exhilarating electric violin solos ever laid down in an earth bound recording
studio, ‘The Demented Man’ reminds you of Dave Brock’s early days busking
with his acoustic guitar on the streets of London. Even Spacenauts have humble
beginnings.
Leading us into the second half of the Warrior adventure is
Nik Turner’s nicely over the top reading of Michael Moorcock’s poem
‘Standing at the Edge’. Next is the most amazing piece of music on the
album: ‘Spiral Galaxy 28949’, written by Simon House, simply years ahead of
its time. It is no wonder that three years later David Bowie head-hunted Simon
to play keyboards and violin and be musical director of his road band for
several years. After another Moorcock spoken poem, the album comes to a
conclusion with Nik Turner’s only composition on the album, a typical Hawkwind
jaunt through ‘Dying Seas’.
Tagged onto the CD release is the A & B sides of the
current single ‘Kings of Speed’. Not much more than a sub Status Quo 12 bar
bash at the charts, but the interesting thing here is the version of the last
song Lemmy ever wrote for Hawkwind, ‘Motorhead’. By the time of the
album’s release, Lemmy had been kicked out of Hawkwind, going on to form his
own band and taking the name for the band from this song; as is well documented
and becoming the leading band in Heavy Metal. Far more famous then Hawkwind
would ever aspire to.
As for Hawkwind themselves, although they were never really
reviled by the new wave of punk rock that hit in mid 77, nor did they ever
recover. Within three years David Brock was the only remaining member. Although
still going today in one form or another (there are actually two bands, Hawkwind
with Dave Brock, and The Hawkwind Experience led by Nik Turner), they have never
troubled the top twenty in the charts again.
But to hear Hawkwind at their finest, sweep back the mists of
time, put ‘Warrior On The Edge of Time’ in your player, and enjoy the
journey.
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Music CD Reviews: Hawkwind - ‘Warrior On The Edge Of Time’